US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Segal Mandelker is visiting the UAE as part of President Donald Trump's administration's efforts to tighten sanctions on Iran, Bloomberg Network reported.
The US official in Abu Dhabi said she would discuss ways to work together "to counter terrorism and Iran's destabilizing influence in the region and the world."
On Monday, Mandelker will meet the heads of seven banks, as well as the heads of UAE shipping companies, and hold talks with officials from the Finance Ministry and the central bank, before heading to Switzerland and Israel, according to Bloomberg.
In remarks to Reuters, the US official said the United States will continue to impose sanctions on anyone who buys Iranian oil or deal with the Revolutionary Guards, adding that Washington will not again grant any exemptions related to purchases of Iranian oil.
"We will continue to put pressure on Iran and as President (Donald Trump) has said, there will be no exemptions of any kind regarding Iranian oil," Mandelker said.
It said Iranian oil sales had seen a "sharp drop" due to US pressure.
Retreat and timeout
Iran's crude oil exports fell by more than 80 percent due to the re-imposition of US sanctions following Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.
Since withdrawing on the grounds that the deal is in Iran's interest at the expense of the United States, the U.S. president has reimposed sanctions to tighten Iran's vital oil trade, force Iran to yield to tighter restrictions on its nuclear activities and ballistic missile program, and to end its proxy wars in the Middle East.
In response, Iran has scaled back its obligations under the nuclear deal starting in May with the aim of pressuring European parties to protect Iran's interests and economy.
France, Germany and Britain have tried to launch a trade-off mechanism with Iran to protect them from US sanctions, but they face serious difficulties in implementing them. On Wednesday, Iran gave European powers 60 days to take effective action to save the nuclear deal. In addition to saving the deal, Tehran wants to resume selling its oil.